The 2026 season, even behind closed doors, has lived up to expectations. The rules revolution introduced by the FIA has unleashed the creativity of F1 designers, resulting in an extremely diverse grid and, above all, many new extreme solutions alongside others revived from the more or less recent past. The new, tightly locked regulations have nevertheless opened the door to concepts that until yesterday had been forbidden. With the bulky wing cars abolished, the stepped floor has returned, with diffuser channels limited only at the rear. In exchange, bargeboards ahead of the sidepods are back, aimed at reducing outwash — but already from these Spanish tests it has become clear that there are ways to circumvent this constraint. The same applies to the endplates of the front wing.
There is little point in analyzing the aerodynamic details in depth: too many solutions are being disguised to make them more or less misleading, and there are far too few high-resolution images. A real shame, given the abundance of extreme and diverse concepts on display. Almost all the leading teams have fielded cars that represent a clean break from the past. The first one we were able to observe more closely, with genuine high-resolution images, was Ferrari. The SF-26 immediately confirmed the rumor that dominated the winter break — namely, the return to a push-rod layout instead of pull-rod for the front suspension, implemented in an extreme configuration. Most likely the chassis shape has been refined, but above all the steering rack has been moved rearward, and its tie rod, together with the rear arm of the lower wishbone, forms a sort of airflow guide (arrow) directing flow toward the sidepods.
The SF-26 goes against the trend of all the new cars in the shape and size of the engine intake.
Indeed, it features the smallest engine air intake, with a triangular section (similar to the SF-10 of 2020), very narrow in contrast to its rivals, who have significantly increased theirs — with the Racing Bull pushing the concept to the extreme.
A bold choice, especially since the other Ferrari-powered teams have enlarged airboxes compared to 2025. However, there is a second, slender rectangular intake that opens just behind the driver’s head.
An even more extreme solution had been adopted by Toro Rosso in the 2014/15 seasons. On the STR10, despite a very large primary intake, there was a second intake underneath that cooled a radiator with a curious inverted V shape.
The shape of the airbox also works in synergy with a very narrow engine cover, thanks to the fact that all the radiator packs are contained within the sidepods, as on previous Ferraris. Still on the theme of returning solutions, the SF-23’s “bypass” duct has reappeared on the new SF-26. Through a slender vertical intake, it allows air to pass from the lower part of the sidepods to the upper area, making the airflow in the central part of the car more efficient. This was an unprecedented solution at the time, but it became influential over the past two seasons as a complement to the “traditional” horizontal intake at the sidepod entrance. On the SF-26, it has been enlarged to serve a dual purpose. Interestingly, both Mercedes and Ferrari feature a vertical slot just after the start of the ramp, as highlighted in yellow in this quick sketch of the W17.
Even in this case, an extreme car, but not yet in its Melbourne-spec version. On the other hand, the MCL40 appeared almost ready for the first race, featuring a nose that partly recalls the “snub-nose” of the 2014 MP4/29, along with an extreme chassis shape and, above all, an extreme front suspension layout.
The chassis is raised at the front bulkhead, right at the rules limit, with a suspension that has abandoned the pull-rod layout in favor of push rod and a lower multilink, featuring a very rearward mount for the rear arm and a pronounced anti-dive.
In extremis, Newey’s Aston Martin was also seen, complete with conspicuous “Viking horns,” reminiscent of the MP4/20 from 2005.
What is striking this time is the rear arm mount of the rear leg of the upper wishbone, positioned extremely high and attached on the wing support, similar to what was partly seen on the RB16B in 2021.
In this quick overview, we focused only on the aspects that catch the eye at first glance, while waiting to see the cars up close in Bahrain. And then there will be the novelties related to the power unit, movable aerodynamics, brakes… a real feast for technical enthusiasts.
